Strategic human resource management and firm performance in food and beverage SME in Lagos, Nigeria

SMEs are the most important source of economic growth and key ingredient in promoting private sector development in Nigeria. The need for the entrepreneur in venturing into SME is the creation of employment not only to their immediate family members but to contribute to the overall economic development of the society. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the relationship between strategic Human Resource management practices and firm performance in food and beverage SMEs in Lagos, Nigeria. Only SMEs in Lagos whose employees are full time staff of the firms and have been in business for a period not less than two years before conducting this study were involved in this study. Due to this, a cross sectional questionnaire survey research design was conducted in this regard. Data were generated from 163 SMEs comprising food and beverages SMEs in Lagos, Nigeria. A number of analyses were conducted using SPSS version19 to analyze the data collected. The findings from the hypothesis tested indicate that there is a significant relationship between SHRM Dimensions (work skills, work knowledge, knowledge sharing, incentive for achieving firm goals, incentive for employee contribution, team cooperation, individual contribution, job fit, and individual fit) and firm performance (intangible and tangible). Thus the study recommends that work skills and individual fit mostly influence intangible firm performance while work skills and job fit are the most significant factor that enhance tangible performance. Finally, both the theoretical and managerial implications are presented and the limitations of this stud